


If Love Is An Ocean, Let Me Drown

by RationalCashew



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, exchange fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RationalCashew/pseuds/RationalCashew
Summary: Mulder takes Scully on a date and winds up hurting himself.Fluff. Hurt/Comfort. Established relationship. MSR.Written for the #XFDialogue2021 exchange.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 21
Kudos: 60
Collections: X-Files Dialogue Fanfic Exchange (2021)





	If Love Is An Ocean, Let Me Drown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Underworld_Vampires](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underworld_Vampires/gifts).



> Jen,
> 
> I hope this is sort of what you were going for! I couldn't resist this type of hurt/comfort with throwing fluff into the mix. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> \--Cate

The smoke from the bar stung Mulder’s eyes as he scanned the area for Scully. He wondered if maybe she was having trouble finding the little hole-in-the-wall place. Or, maybe, she just hit traffic. It wasn’t like Scully to be late.

Mulder glanced at his watch. He’d give her another ten minutes before calling to make sure everything was okay. With a sigh, Mulder took a sip of the beer in front of him. He probably should have taken her somewhere nicer and with far less people smoking indoors. But this little establishment had nachos to die for and she needed to try them.

A light touch on his bicep tore him from his reverie. Scully smiled a smile that just might have made his knees buckle if he’d been standing. Before he could form a thought beyond how incredible those jeans were, she was already sliding into her place across from him.

“Sorry I’m late,” Scully said. “I got stuck behind the remnants of an accident.”

“You look great,” he blurted in response. Scully’s cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink and he loved being able to make them do that. Silently, he slid her drink across the table to her.

“Thanks,” she replied and self-consciously moved a piece of hair from her face. There was the slightest moment of silence before she continued in a flirty tone, “So, there’s something here that I ‘absolutely have to try’?”

Mulder had been wondering how long it would take for her to set aside their work persona and shift into their personal one.

Personal-ish one. They hadn’t exactly defined their relationship, yet. Although, in his mind, that’s exactly what it was. They had only shared a few kisses and a pleasant amount of snuggling, but that was about it. It had taken them way too long to get here and Mulder wasn’t about to ruin it by pushing her to define this thing.

Mulder grinned.

“The nachos.”

A look of disbelief played across Scully’s face. “Nachos, Mulder?”

“The _best_ nachos, Scully.”

“As in melted cheese and chips?”

“These are no mere nachos, Scully. These nachos reign supreme.”

Scully giggled in response and Mulder’s heart beat a little faster.

“Is that so?” she asked with a smirk.

Mulder nodded enthusiastically. “In fact, I have already taken the liberty of ordering some for us.”

Scully nodded as though she wasn’t sure how to respond to his statement.

This was quickly becoming way more awkward than Mulder felt like it should be. Nachos? What the hell had he been thinking? He should have taken her somewhere else.

“So,” Scully began, lifting the bottle before her for another sip of her beer. “Did you find anything when you—.”

“No work talk, Scully,” Mulder replied quickly. He must have taken her off guard because her eyebrows skyrocketed toward the ceiling, emphasizing the wide eyes she was giving him. “This is a date, Scully. No work talk.”

She grinned in response, her eyes twinkling perfectly in the dim light. Between the look on Scully’s face, the outfit she was wearing, and the amount of beer already in his system from nervous pre-gaming, he was going to be in trouble.

Scully opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the server placing an enormous plate of nachos between them on the table.

* * *

The declaration of the evening being a date shouldn’t have surprised Scully as much as it had. They’d been seeing each other in a personal capacity for a while now. If she really thought about it, it could be argued that they’d been seeing each other for years now. But that was neither here nor there.

A date.

This was the first real, verbal acknowledgement of this thing they were doing. Not that Scully was going to complain about it. They’d had their reasons for moving at a glacier’s pace, but they finally got here and, for that, she was grateful.

She looked up at the man across the table. He beamed back at her like a child on Christmas. Part of Scully wondered how in the hell she had managed to avoid this aspect of their relationship for so long— _why_ she’d avoided it for so long. Things weren’t any more complicated than they’d been before. The difference was that, now, it was okay to kiss him, to hold his hand, or snuggle into him while they watched a movie or read. She could do this now because she wanted to do it; not just because he’d been injured in some way or another.

Mulder gestured to the enormous plate of chips, cheese, and something Scully couldn’t identify before them.

“Ladies first,” he said, the smile still on his face.

Scully reached for a chip, making sure that it contained a little of everything in the concoction, and brought it to her mouth. She would agree that the nachos were good, but what she wouldn’t say aloud was that she wasn’t sure what the difference was between these nachos and any other nachos.

“It’s good,” Scully said. If it was possible for Mulder’s grin to widen further, that’s exactly what happened.

“Good? These are the _best_ , Scully.”

As though making a point, he popped a chip smothered in everything else into his mouth. Scully could only smirk and shake her head. Mulder could be a child sometimes, but she wasn’t going to take this from him. Scully grabbed another chip from the plate and popped it into her mouth.

* * *

Mulder watched as Scully’s tongue swiped over her lip, removing the tiniest amount of stray cheese left from the chip. His jeans tightened just a little and he swallowed hard. This woman was going to be the death of him. And he was totally okay with that.

There was a strange irony in needing more alcohol so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. Mulder knew what she would say if he’d voiced his anxiety about the evening. Scully would tell him that he was being absurd and that she wanted to be there. And he could see it in her eyes that she was happy to be there with him. It was, in fact, the most relaxed that he’d seen her in a couple of weeks.

Mulder had no idea what had given him the notion of bringing her to this bar for nachos and beer, but he was glad he did. Scully needed to relax. She’d been pushing herself too hard lately, if he said so himself. He wouldn’t say that to her, of course.

“What are you smiling about?” Scully asked, mild flirtation present in her tone.

Mulder shrugged, grinning himself, and replied, “I’m glad you came here with me.”

Scully smiled at that. “I am, too. This is fun.”

“And the nachos are great.”

“That, too,” Scully replied. Mulder grinned.

“So, after this, you want to come back to my place and watch a movie?” Before she had a chance to reply, he added, “I mean, if you don’t have other plans this evening.”

“A movie sounds great,” Scully responded and a wave of relief washed over Mulder. It seemed like she didn’t want the evening to end any time soon, either.

Several beers and another half a plate of nachos later, Mulder paid the check and they headed out.

* * *

When they got outside, Mulder was looking at Scully with a concerned look that was usually reserved for work-related incidents.

“Are you okay to drive?” He asked, adding, “Because I…am not.”

Scully couldn’t help but to giggle at that.

“No,” she confessed. In reality, she probably could have but it wasn’t something that she was going to risk. An intoxicated federal agent getting a DUI wasn’t exactly something on her bucket list.

Mulder looked around before replying. “Well, it’s only a couple of blocks. We can sober up back at my place and then come back for your car?”

“Sounds good,” Scully said, sliding her hand in his larger one, lacing her fingers through his.

“Want me to get a cab?”

Scully shook her head in response. “It’s only a couple of blocks. I think we can walk.”

“That’s a lot of faith you have in me right now, you know,” Mulder replied. Scully giggled.

She’d been doing that a lot lately, she noticed. On the one hand, it was mildly embarrassing that he could cause her to do it and make her feel like a giddy teenaged girl again. On the other hand, she loved the side of him that could invoke such a reaction.

Still hand-in-hand, they’d walked nearly a block in silence. Each of them took in the strange calm about them. It wasn’t the city that was calm. No, on a Friday night, it wouldn’t be. It was something internal, Scully thought. She was relaxed and it wasn’t only because of the alcohol in her system. Mulder was more relaxed than she’d seen him in a while.

When they’d first shifted from a platonic relationship to a romantic one, things had been a little tense. They rarely went out in public as a couple—or, whatever their version of that was. They were always looking over their shoulder, more so than they had before taking the plunge. Part of Scully had wondered if they would even be able to handle the shift or if they would end up watching it all crash down around them.

Mulder was a paranoid individual. She’d known this about him from the moment she met him. Yet, the paranoia bleeding into their personal relationship was something she’d been afraid of dealing with and it was certainly something that she didn’t want to be taking home with them.

Scully hadn’t realized that they’d stopped walking when the realization hit her that she was considering a point in time where they might have a home. Together. She’d lived with boyfriends in the past but even back then there was always a Plan B, an escape if she needed one. That part that scared her was that she didn’t have that with Mulder. No Plan B. No contingency. No escape.

What Scully had was _him_.

“Scully?” Mulder asked, concern present in his voice.

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

Scully met his gaze and smiled softly. “Yes.”

Mulder pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. What possessed him to do that, she didn’t know. Scully also didn’t care. She was content to stand like that for a while.

“We don’t do this enough,” Mulder said after a moment.

“Do what?”

“Go on dates. Relax. Have fun.”

Scully pulled back just far enough to look him in the eye. “Are you saying that I’m no fun?”

Mulder grinned and replied, “Not at all. I just mean, I think I’m finally getting what you were saying about getting out of the car.” He let out a sigh. “I can’t just stop. I don’t know how. But…I want to slow down some. Enjoy stuff like this…with you.”

“Mulder,” she replied softly and stretched up to kiss him.

When they pulled apart, Mulder laced their fingers together again.

“I have a confession to make,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Those nachos aren’t the best ones I’ve ever had.”

Scully laughed at that. Why didn’t that surprise her?

“So, then, I absolutely had to try them because…?”

Mulder shrugged and turned to face her so that he was walking backwards in front of her.

“I just wanted to take you somewhere relaxed. Those jeans are working for me, by the way.”

He flashed that boyish, idiot grin of his and began to turn around. Scully hadn’t even gotten his name out of her mouth to warn him when he smacked right into the pole. Mulder hit it hard enough that Scully heard the _ding_ from the collision.

“Oh, my god! Mulder, are you okay?” Scully asked, rushing to his side to examine him. He only groaned in response.

“Move your hand so I can have a look,” she instructed, taking his wrist in her hand and moving his hand out of the way.

There was quite a bit of blood, but the injury itself didn’t look like it would require stitches.

“Am I gonna make it?” Mulder asked.

Scully snorted. “Yes, you’ll be fine. Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Mulder’s hand went back to his head and Scully slipped her hand into his other one, leading him in the building.

* * *

Mulder sat on the couch, anxiously waiting for Scully to return to the living room with whatever it was she needed to clean up his injury. When she finally joined him, she took a seat atop the coffee table and let out a sigh.

“Sometimes, I think you get hurt just so I’ll have to patch you up,” she said.

Mulder couldn’t honestly say whether or not she was joking. The tone of her voice was exasperated. Even drunk, he recognized that tone. The small smirk on her lips, however, was what gave him pause.

“Gotta keep your medical training in top shape, Dr. Scully,” Mulder replied, trying to sound smooth but even he could tell he was slightly slurring his words. Scully quirked her eyebrow.

“Mulder, nothing about that sentence makes sense. They teach emergency first aid at the academy and—.”

His finger went to her lips, causing her eyes to widen. Scully’s lips were soft even under his index finger. He’d think about that later.

“Shhhhh!” Mulder ordered drunkenly. “Don’t ruin my moment.”

“Your moment?” She grinned underneath his index finger.

“Shh! I’m trying to help you, Scully.”

Scully was tempted to ask him how shushing her was in any way helpful, but his finger was still pressed against her lips. On a whim, she kissed his finger. Mulder’s eyes locked onto hers as he slowly pulled his finger back. Scully smirked.

He hissed when she applied the disinfectant to the cut on his head.

“Sorry,” she winced.

“I walked into a pole,” he sighed in disbelief. Scully giggled. “Laughing at me? Wow. Thanks.”

“You walked into a pole, Mulder. It’s a little funny. Besides, you don’t need stitches. Just a Band-Aid now that the bleeding has mostly stopped.”

A wicked grin filled Mulder’s face. “You gonna kiss it better?”

Scully only smirked in response. However, once she’d placed the Band-Aid over the cut, she pressed a kiss to it and Mulder grinned.

“All better,” she said, pulling away from him.

Scully squeaked when Mulder snaked an arm around her and unexpectedly pulled her into his lap. He rested his forehead against hers and her hands went, instinctively, around his shoulders.

“You take good care of me,” he said softly.

Scully smirked. “Someone has to.”

Mulder pressed a kiss to her lips and lingered there for just a moment before resting his forehead against hers for just a moment. They stayed that way, with Scully playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, for a couple of minutes before Scully moved to stand up. Mulder groaned at the loss of contact and she only threw an amused smile his way before moving to sit beside him on the couch.

He watched as she removed the boots she’d been wearing and set them by the side of the couch. Mulder must have made a face because Scully arched an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked.

Mulder shook his head with a grin. “I was just thinking about your shoes.”

“What about them?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in sneakers,” he chuckled. “You’re always wearing heels.” He reached over her and picked up the nearest shoe, observing it carefully before looking at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. “I don’t know how you could wear these all day. They can’t be comfortable.”

Scully snorted in amusement. “They’re not bad. Who knows? Maybe, you’ll see me in sneakers one day.”

“I mean, I’m not complaining about these.” Mulder held up the shoe before setting it back on the floor. “It’s easier to kiss you.”

Scully smacked him playfully on the bicep and Mulder laughed.

* * *

Mulder only half-watched the movie playing on the screen before them. Scully was snuggled into him, her arm draped across his abdomen and she rested her head on his shoulder. His arm was draped around her, holding her securely to his side. At some point, Mulder had pulled the blanket around them.

He wasn’t cold by any means. He hadn’t been cold when he pulled the blanket around them. Scully’s body pressed into his kept him plenty warm.

Mulder wasn’t entirely sure at what point she’d dozed off but her soft snores gave away just how deep in sleep she was already. But he wasn’t ready to release her.

Somehow, his mind drifted to the old adage of fish in the sea and its implication regarding relationships. As frustrating as this one could be sometimes, Mulder wouldn’t trade it for anything. If love was, indeed, an ocean, then he was okay to drown in it. He thought he’d been in love before but no relationship he’d been in prior held a candle to this one.

Scully was smart. She was selfless. She was beautiful. She was kind.

Most importantly, Scully was his.

Mulder watched her sleep as best he could in this position before running a finger down her cheek and whispering her name.

“Hmm?” she replied without moving.

“The movie’s over,” Mulder said quietly.

Scully lifted her head and looked at the T.V. The credits were rolling.

“I should go,” she sighed, removing the blanket from around her shoulders.

“Your car is in a parking garage. Stay tonight. We can get it in the morning. Let’s just go to bed.”

Scully eyed him and he realized how it might have sounded.

“To sleep,” he clarified, not that he wouldn’t have been perfectly happy if they were to do something more.

Scully hesitated for a moment but nodded. Mulder couldn’t help but to smile. He rose from his spot on the couch and held out his hand to her. She took it, swaying slightly as she stood up.

Mulder led her to the bedroom and grabbed a shirt from his dresser.

“Here,” he said, holding the proffered shirt out. “You can sleep in this. There’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom.”

“Thank you,” Scully replied tiredly, smiling a soft smile. She rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom and Mulder took the opportunity to change his clothes, too.

After brushing his teeth and returning to the bedroom, Mulder found that Scully had fallen back to sleep. This time, she was in his t-shirt and under his comforter. He couldn’t help but smile at that and silently hope to that this would happen more in the very near future.

Mulder watched her for a long moment before crawling into bed beside her. He draped his arm over the dip in her waist, spooning himself tightly behind her. Scully shifted slightly in her sleep and exhaled a breath. After placing a final kiss on her cheek, Mulder laid his head down and breathed in the scent of her shampoo until he drifted to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Jeri, my friend. Thank you for bouncing ideas with me! ❤️


End file.
